Zipper foot attachment for sewing machines



May 12, 1970 R. B. HOWELL 3,511,197

ZIPPER FOOT ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed March 8, 1966 ROBERT B. HOWELL INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,511,197 ZIPPER FOOT ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Robert B. Howell, Bremerton, Wash., assignor to Unique Zipper Distributing Co., a corporation of Washington Continuation-impart of applications Ser. No. 228,481,

Oct. 4, 1962, and Ser. No. 464,353, June 16, 1965. This application Mar. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 532,796

Int. Cl. Db 29/00 US. Cl. 112235 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A zipper foot component for installing a zipper strap having rows of zipper teeth. The foot component has a flat bottom with a hole to receive the sewing machine needle and two longitudinally extending parallel slots formed in the bottom surface for guiding the zipper teeth. The slots are flared outwardly away from the center of the foot and the bottom edges of the outboard sidewalls of the slots are provided with inclined narrow places to prevent bagging.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending US. application Ser. No. 228,481, filed Oct. 4, 1962, now Pat. No. 3,259,090, and Ser. No. 464,353, filed June 16, 1965, and now Pat. No. 3,251,326.

This invention relates to attachments for sewing machines which not only perform the function of a presser foot but also serve to locate a zipper strap with its row of zipper teeth as the strap is being sewn to a garment. More particularly the invention relates to a novel configuration of longitudinal slots or guideways in the bottom surface of the foot component which serve to hold the zipper teeth in proper position for stitching.

The object of the invention therefore is to provide an improved zipper foot for sewing machines which will facilitate the stitching of a zipper strap by guiding the advancing zipper teeth and maintaining them erect to prevent interference with the needle and allow close stitching.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the zipper foot attachment illustrating the stitching of a zipper strap; and

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate identical parts in the respective views, the zipper foot attachment or component is indicated generally at 1 in FIG. 1 with an adapter unit 2 for connecting the attachment to the presser bar 3 of a sewing machine as will be understood by those familiar with the art. The sewing machine needle 4 is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 and the zipper strap is indicated generally at 6.

The zipper foot component 1 may be integral in structure and comprises a zipper foot portion 7, an ankle 8 upstanding from the heel 9 of the foot, and a forked portion 11 which extends rearwardly from the upper portion of the angle. The foot 7 is provided with longitudinal side-by-side slots 12 and 13 each of which serves as a guideway for a related one of the two rows of zipper teeth which are to be fastened to a garment as illustrated. The slots 12 and 13 extend the full length of the foot portion 7 and are flared in opposite directions from a vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axis of the foot.

3,511,197 Patented May 12, 1970 As seen most clearly in FIG. 2, the inboard side walls or surfaces 14 and 16 of the slots converge to form the ridge 17 which is located above the level of the bottom surface 18 of the foot 7. The outboard sidewalls or surfaces 19 and 21 of the slots terminate at approximately the same level as the ridge 17 with the outwardly inclined side faces 22 and 23 extending between the bottom surface 18 and the outboard sidewalls of the slots.

At the longitudinal center line of the toe 24 of the foot 7 is a vertical through opening 26 which receives the needle 4 as illustrated in FIG. 1. The opening 26 receives the needle in its proper location as it executes its up and down sewing motion. During operation, the flared guideways or slots 12 and 13, by reason of their shape, serve to receive the teeth 27 and to hold them erect during the vertical stitching action of the needle 4. This is particularly important when installing hidden zippers since, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the row of teeth 27 is normally laid over on the fabric strip and must be turned and held erect to allow close stitching adjacent the teeth. As shown in FIG. 2, the ridge 17 acts as a guide keeping the teeth to one side of the center line of the opening 26 to prevent interference by the teeth with the needle. It will also be noted that the tapered faces 22 and 23 prevent any damage or snagging of the foot with the material of the zipper strap as it moves past the foot. The zipper strap 6 is thus stitched to a garment along a seam line closely adjacent the row of teeth 27. Of course, in addition to its guide function, the foot 7 performs the usual function of a presser foot in that it pushes the strap 6 and the underlying garment (not shown) against the feed dog (not shown) of the machine which moves the garment on for a specified distance after each stitch has been made.

From the foregoing it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention provides significant improvements in zipper foot attachments of the character described. Minor changes in the details of construction will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A zipper foot component for installing a zipper strap having rows of zipper teeth, said component including a foot portion having a generally fiat bottom surface and a vertical opening therethrough to receive a sewing machine needle, guide means for positioning 2. respective row of zipper teeth comprising, two longitudinally extending parallel slots formed in said bottom surface so located as to guide the advancing zipper teeth, said slots being positioned on opposite sides and flared outwardly from a vertical plane passing through the center of said vertical opening, said slots being defined by spaced inboard and outboard sidewalls, said sidewalls be ng inclined upwardly and outwardly from said vertical plane, the inboard sidewalls of said slots converging to form a longitudinal ridge, said ridge being located in said vertical plane and spaced inwardly from the bottom surface of the foot component, and second side faces extending between the bottom edge of said outboard side walls respectively in the bottom surface of the foot component.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein; said side faces are lanar and reversely inclined from said outboard sidewalls, the intersection of said side faces and the respective outboard side surfaces of the slots being at the approximate level of said longitudinal ridge.

3. In a zipper foot component for installing a zipper strap having rows of zipper teeth, said component including a foot portion having a generally flat bottom surface and a vertical opening therethrough to receive a sewing machine needle, guide means for positioning a respective 3 row of zipper teeth comprising; at least one longitudinally extending slot formed in said bottom surface and located so as to guide the advancing zipper teeth, said slot being defined by an inboard and an outboard sidewall, and an outwardly inclined side face extending between the bottom edge of said outboard sidewall and the bottom surface of the foot component.

4. The device according to claim 3 wherein; said inboard and outboard side Walls are inclined upwardly and outwardly from a vertical plane passing through said vertical opening.

5. In a zipper foot component for installing a zipper strap having rows of zipper teeth, said component including a foot portion having a generally flat bottom surface and a vertical opening therethrough to receive a sewing machine needle, guide means for positioning a respective row of zipper teeth comprising; two longitudinally extending parallel slots formed in said bottom surface and so located as to guide the advancing zipper teeth, said slots being defined by spaced inboard and outboard sidewalls, and first and second outwardly inclined side faces extending between the bottom edge of said outboard side walls respectively and the bottom surface of the foot component.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 381,090 4/ 1888 Sutherland 1l2235 2,909,136 10/ 1959 Dixon et a1. 112235 3,003,444 10/ 1961 Gary 112235 3,011,459 12/1961 McNamara 112235 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

